Venezuela bans civilians from private gun ownership

[RugersGR8]

Let's think just a little bit, banning the commercial sale of firearms and ammunition to cut down on crime, where have we all heard that before?



http://hotair.com/archives/2012/06/04/venezuela-bans-civilians-from-private-gun-ownership/
Venezuela bans civilians from private gun ownership
posted at 9:41 am on June 4, 2012 by Erika Johnsen

 

[3inSlugger]

Venezuela going the way of Germany, China, NoKo...

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

What a great place, if you disagree with those in control.... poof, you're gone. Sounds familiar, huh?

ETA: ^^^ is a reference to dictators such as Hitler & Saddum Huessein not forum mods.

 

[dennishoddy]

There is private ownership of guns allowed in Germany. It's restricted, but possible.
Here is a little bit of the regs:

After 1945, the Allied Forces commanded the complete disarming of Germany. Even German police officers were initially not allowed to carry firearms. Private ownership of firearms was not allowed until after 1956. The legal status returned essentially to that of the Law on Firearms and Ammunition of 1928. The regulation of the matter was thoroughly revised in 1972, when the new restrictive Federal Weapons Act (Bundeswaffengesetz) became effective, partly as a reaction to the terror of the Red Army Faction.[8] It was developed in the Federal Weapons Act of 2002 and by amendments in 2008 and 2009. These laws were the result of a chain of school shootings in Erfurt, Emsdetten and Winnenden. They led to a public debate, in which blame was attributed to various elements of youth culture and society, including violent computer games, television programs, rock music and private gun ownership.[9]

The Weapons Act of 2002 increased the age requirements for licensed hunters and competition shooters. It also introduced the requirement of a psychological evaluation for persons under the age of 25 to fulfil the requirement of personal adequacy for large-bore firearms.

The first amendment became effective on April 1, 2008. The intention of that amendment was to ban certain kinds of weapons like airsoft-guns, tasers, so-called Anscheinswaffen (dummy-guns) and knives with blades longer than 12 cm from public places. They may still be carried in sealed wrappings and for professional or ceremonial purposes. Their use on private premises and in non-public places like gun clubs is not restricted.

The second amendment became effective on July 17, 2009. It introduced routine verifications of safe firearms storage by local firearms control offices at the homes of licensees. It also tightened the conditions for continuous necessity. A constitutional complaint (Verfassungsbeschwerde) was launched against the law, alleging a violation of the inviolability of the home, guaranteed by Art. 13 of the German constitution.[10]

The weapons law does not apply to military use of weapons within the Bundeswehr or to the police. The identity card of German troops and police officers contains a term allowing them to carry weapons. Nonetheless - within the military - issuance of guns and especially ammunition is very strictly controlled.

In Germany the possession of any firearm with a fire energy exceeding 7.5 Joule requires a valid firearms ownership license for any particular weapon. The current Federal Weapons Act adopts a two-tiered approach to firearms licensing.

Firearms ownership license

A firearms ownership license (Waffenbesitzkarte) must be obtained before a weapon can be purchased. Owners of multiple firearms need separate ownership licenses for every single firearm they own. It entitles owners to purchase firearms and handle them on their own property and any private property with property owner consent. On public premises, a licensed firearm must be transported unloaded and in a stable, fully enclosing, locked container. A weapons ownership license does not entitle the owner to shoot the weapon or carry it on public premises without the prescribed container. Owners must obtain mandatory insurance and a means to securely store the weapon on their premises (a weapons locker). Blanket ownership licenses are issued to arms dealers, firearms experts and - with limitations - to collectors. Today, there are ca. four million legal private gun owners.[11]

A number of criteria must be met before a firearms ownership license is issued:

age of consent (18 years for rimfire calibers/21 years for higher calibers) (§ 4 WaffG)
trustworthiness (§ 5 WaffG)
personal adequacy (§ 6 WaffG)
expert knowledge (§ 7 WaffG) and
necessity (§ 8 WaffG)
Necessity is automatically assumed present for licensed hunters and owners of a carry permit (Waffenschein). Competition shooters can demonstrate necessity by being an active member of a Schützenverein (marksmen club) for over a year. A competition shooter can lose necessity - and be required to give up owned firearms - by abandoning the shooting sport. Self-defense is not a recognized ground for necessity, outside the narrow requirements of a carry permit.

Inheritors of legal firearms can obtain a permit without having to demonstrate expert knowledge or necessity, but without them, the firearm has to be blocked by an arms dealer (§ 20 WaffG) and an inheritor's license does not include the right to acquire or handle ammunition.

Persons who are

convicted felons
have a record of mental disorder or
are deemed unreliable (which includes people with drug or alcohol addiction histories and known violent or aggressive persons)
are barred from obtaining a firearms ownership license.

Firearms ownership licenses come in three color-coded varieties: Green licenses enable the holder to acquire and own all non-assault weapons. Every acquisition requires prior approval and per-firearm necessity. License holders are normally limited to two short firearms and three semi-automatic rifles. Yellow licenses enable the holder to acquire and own single-shot and repeater long firearms and single-shot short ones, without having to obtain prior approval or demonstrate individual necessity. Acquisition is limited to two firearms per half-year. Red licenses are available to collectors and experts. They allow unlimited acquisition of firearms, for collectors they are usually constrained to a specific collectible "theme".

Firearms carry permit

Firearms carry permits (Waffenschein) entitle licensees to publicly carry legally owned weapons, loaded in a concealed or non-concealed manner. A mandatory legal and safety class and shooting proficiency tests are required to obtain such a permit. Carry permits are usually only issued to persons with a particular need for carrying a firearm. This includes some private security personnel and persons living under a raised threat-level like celebrities and politicians. They are valid up to three years and can be extended. Carrying at public events is prohibited. Licensed hunters do not need a permit to carry weapons while hunting.

Small firearms carry permit

A small firearms carry permit (Kleiner Waffenschein) was introduced in 2002. It can be obtained without having to demonstrate expert knowledge, necessity or a mandatory insurance. The only requirements are that the applicant be of legal age, trustworthy and personally adequate. It entitles the licensee to publicly carry gas pistols (both of the blank and irritant kind) and flare guns. These types of firearms are freely available to adults; only the actual carrying on public property requires the permit. Similarly to the "real" or big permit, carrying at public events is prohibited.

Firearms without a license

To own a single shot percussion firearm developed until 1870, and all muzzle loaders with flintlock or earlier designes, you don't need a license but must be 18 years old. But if you want to shoot competitions f.e. you need a special license to buy blackpowder or substitutes.

 

[Honeybee]

So basically what the US will look like in 2013 after our next election and before total ban takes affect.

 

[Glocktogo]

I have friends in Venezuela who will suffer as a result of this. They're going after freedom of the press as well. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11018751 Can't have any negative press on the socialist worker's paradise that Chavez built. Hopefully his cancer will take effect before this edict does. The purges will be next.

 

[HMFIC]

Isn't Chavez about dead yet? Hopefully once he's gone there will be some sanity brought back to Venezuela.

 

[Glocktogo]

Isn't Chavez about dead yet? Hopefully once he's gone there will be some sanity brought back to Venezuela.

I've been waiting almost 10 years to go there. That bastard's like the Energizer Bunny.